Anika Van Wyk, Calgary Sun, Jun 4, 1998

On her beginnings:

* "We were extremely poor when I was a kid and I used to just sing and play guitar in my bedroom as an escape. But my mother noticed my singing ability and lived with the hope that it would lead me to something special. My parents got me out of the house, and I performed everywhere they could get me booked -- every TV station, every radio station, every community centre, every old-age home."

* "I'm very thankful for any of the hardships that I've gone through because I think it's easy to become an egomaniac in this industry. Everybody's always telling you how great you are and you get so caught up in all of it that nobody likes you anymore. I don't want to be that person."

* "I pretty much missed my childhood. My personal life changed drastically. When my parents died, my brothers and younger sister were still living at home. My brothers were only 13 and 14 years old and I became sister/mom. I had responsibilities, so I couldn't just go around getting gigs here and there, or writing only when I felt like it. I took a job singing at a resort (Deerhurst). I bought a house, a family truck, and settled down -- I thought forever."

On her success:

* "There are days I just have to pinch myself to make certain I'm not dreaming."

* "Right now, when you're this popular, it's all about what color clothes to wear and how big a hat. The reality is that you can't be No. 1 all the time. There is great talent waiting in the wings. It's your songs, not your celebrity that will give you your longevity."

On her tour:

* "Now (with the release of Come On Over) I have enough songs to do a proper-length show with original material. You can't be a headlining act and get up and do only six songs. I never wanted to be in the position of having to fill the gaps. As a songwriter, that would have been too insulting to me."

* "I don't want a show that's over-produced. There will be great lights, excellent sound and a band that's animated and the live arrangements of the songs will be a big part of the dynamics of the show. But it won't be as slick as a Janet Jackson show."

On her image:

* "I don't want to be seen as just a pretty face with a pretty voice."

* "I refuse to play down the way I look in order to be taken seriously as an artist. I mean, if I had an office job, I wouldn't show up for work baring my midriff . But this is entertainment.... I don't wanna be 50 years old thinking: I should have enjoyed it while I had it."

* "I'm still not able to walk down the beach without a beach wrap. I don't think I'll ever be able to. It's kinda dumb."

* "I developed very young and I was very much into sports. So now I wasn't just running on the football team as one of the guys; I was running on the football team bouncing! I started wearing layers of clothing.... I really withdrew from wanting to be girl."

* "My message to teens or women pertaining to this subject is if you used to wear a T-shirt before you got a chest, you still should wear a T-shirt. And don't stop doing things because you're afraid of bouncing. That's you -- you're going to bounce."

On her music:

* "The music has elements that were familiar to country listeners and elements that were familiar to pop and rock listeners. There's a lot of people who listen to my album who listen to the Smashing Pumpkins and there are other who might have a George Strait album along with mine."

On her hometown of Timmins, Ont.:

* "I feel like the same person as when I left town."

* "This proves that you can come from a small town and still go a long way."

* "I always look forward to coming back to Canada and seeing everyone."

On her family and heritage:

* "I don't know how much Indian blood I actually have in me, but as the adopted daughter of my father , Jerry, I became legally registered as 50 percent North American Indian. Being raised by a full-blooded Indian and being part of his family and their culture from a young age is all I've kno w. That heritage is my heart and my soul, and I'm very proud of it."

On her husband/producer/writing partner Robert John (Mutt) Lange:

* "Our relationship started because we were compatible creatively ... so that's really one of the parts of our relationship that is the most compatible."

* "He's the type of guy who almost never puts the guitar down. He's always got it on him, he walks around with it."

* "If we can't agree (while writing), and we're just like this, we usually try to find an alternative -- that's part of the fun actually.

* "If we can't compromise, because it's very difficult to compromise artistically, we take up the challenge of finding another way of saying it and it always comes out better that way."

* "When we wrote (The Woman In Me), we weren't together romantically yet.We've come such a long way as co-writers.

* "We just know each other so much better. With this album (Come On Over), we know each other so well that it's easier to challenge each other.

* "We're not as intimidated with each other and that opens up a whole bunch of new creative doors."

* "Mutt's a huge country music fan. I may be the princess in his life, but Tammy Wynette is the Queen!"

On having children:

* "(Getting pregnant) is something I'm trying to avoid at the moment because I obviously have big plans to tour. Perhaps, at one point that will happen, but not at the moment."

On her influences:

* "I grew up listening to Waylon, Willie, Dolly, Tammy, all of them. My parents were obsessed with country music. But we also listened to the Mamas and the Papas, The Carpenters, The Supremes, The Jacksons and such."

On her love of animals:

* "I really love animals and I become quite excited and childlike around them. Even watching them from a distance is extremely pleasurable to me."